The Vampire Diaries' Candice Accola: Caroline's Devastating Arc Has Been Gratifying, But Exhausting

The Vampire Diaries' Caroline Forbes has had a rough year. First, her best friend Bonnie disappeared, while at the same time she was forced to leave Mystic Falls when a spell rid the town of its magic. And just as things were getting back to normal, Caroline's mom was hit with a devastatingly fatal diagnosis that even the supernatural couldn't cure.

On Thursday's episode, Caroline (Candice Accola) plans her mother's funeral and deals with the overwhelming emotion of saying goodbye to her mom (Marguerite MacIntyre). But while one chapter for Caroline is ending, another has just begun between her and Stefan (Paul Wesley). However, if you thought the build-up to their their first kiss was slow, just wait until you hear what's next.

This season has been incredibly emotional for Caroline. What has it been like to film? Candice Accola: If I were to pick two words from an emotional hat, they would be gratifying and exhausting. In a mythology-based series we're constantly up against portraying the believability of a world that doesn't really exist, but this specific storyline really resonates with people, and that experience is a real thing. So there was a lot of tears even in the read-through.

Will Caroline continue to deal with everything by planning and organizing? Accola: We're going to see Caroline exactly how we know her. She was trying to control the moments with her mom before she died and didn't get to do that, so she's definitely into planning her funeral with that same controlling and put-together attitude — and a lot of list-making.

Tell us about the actual funeral scene. Accola: It's very emotional and it's also remembering that this wasn't just a funeral for family, but that she was the sheriff of the town. So you have the police officers there and a salute and the final call and the things that go into a funeral for a lost service member. If you're hoping for a lighter episode this week... it's going to be pretty heavy like last week.

And you sing during the funeral! Whose idea was that? Accola: Julie [Plec]'s! [It's] so funny because for years everyone was like, "Is Caroline going to sing again?" That's been the running joke. That [scene in Season 2] was fun, but it was never [going to] happen again because finding a natural place for someone to belt out singing on a vampire show isn't really an easy task. But I did sing and it's a sweet moment, she pays tribute, and it's a really tender moment in a very sad funeral.

Stefan and Caroline finally kissed. What's next for them? Accola: It's hard for anyone to go through a funeral and then take the time to experience what's going on on a more personal level. For now Caroline is really focused on the funeral, although eventually we'll see these characters talk [about what happened], but the results of that conversation will take time to see.

How does Bonnie's return affect Caroline? Accola: Caroline is really focused on taking care of what needs to be done and herself, as opposed to mourning any time lost [with Bonnie], so she's really more trying to get through what's just happened with her mom dying.

The Vampire Diaries airs on Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW.

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